Chapter 8 - Blood on the Dance Floor
|
"Let go of me," Madeline said, forcing her voice to remain steady.
Victor’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. His bodyguards stepped closer, forming a human wall around the baccarat table. The other players quickly and quietly grabbed their chips and backed away.
"I asked you a question," Victor said, his thumb pressing hard into her wrist bone. "I know this ring. The last time I saw it, it was covered in Costello blood."
"Then you know you shouldn't be touching it," a voice rang out behind them.
The crowd parted. Gabriel Costello walked through, moving with the deadly grace of a predator. He didn't look angry. He looked completely, violently calm.
Victor’s face twisted into a sneer. "Gabriel. I should have known this little display was your doing. Hiding behind a woman's skirt?"
"Take your hand off her, Victor," Gabriel said softly.
"Or what?" Victor taunted, dropping Madeline's wrist and turning fully to face the younger boss. "You're in my house, Costello. You don't make the rules here."
"I make the rules everywhere."
Before Victor’s guards could draw their weapons, the lights in the casino plunged into total darkness.
"Get down!" Gabriel yelled.
Madeline felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, yanking her out of her chair just as the deafening crack of a gunshot shattered the silence. Glass rained down from the chandeliers. Screams erupted across the casino floor.
Gabriel pulled her tight against his chest, shielding her body with his own as he dragged her toward the kitchen doors. Gunfire flashed in the dark, lighting up the chaos in rapid, blinding bursts.
May you like
"Keep moving!" Gabriel ordered, firing his own weapon blindly over his shoulder.
Madeline stumbled on her heels, kicking them off as they crashed through the swinging doors into the alleyway rain.
